USA > New York > Oneida County > Kirkland > History of the town of Kirkland, New York > Part 6
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A speech of one of the leading men in this council (as afterwards reported to Mr. Kirkland) ran thus: " 'This white skin whom we call our brother has come upon a dark design, or he would not have travelled so many hun- dred miles. He brings the white people's book. They
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MR. KIRKLAND IN PERIL.
call it God's holy book. Brothers, attend ! You know this book was never made for Indians. The Great Spirit gave us a book for ourselves. He wrote it in'our heads." This speech became inflammatory as it went on, and closed with a demand for the white man's blood. The widow of the deceased was then called to testify whether this priest did not carry with him some magical powders. " Did he never come to the bedside, and whisper in your husband's ear, or puff in his face ?" " No, never," replied the honest woman ; " he always sat or lay down on his own bunk ; and in the evening, after we were in bed, we could see him get down on his knees and talk with a low voice." Whether this testimony to his pious integrity, or the fear of incurring Sir William's displeasure, had most influence upon their decision, we care not now to inquire.
In March and April of the following year there was a great scarcity of food among the Senecas and the adjoin- ing tribes. Not only was their stock of corn exhausted, but game of all sorts became scarce, and for a time noth- ing but roots and nuts kept them from starvation. Ex- peditions were sent out in various directions for supplies, one of which, to the Mohawk Valley, headed by Mr. Kirk- land, came back loaded with food and blankets. As soon as he had mastered the language so as to speak it, he went from village to village, instructing the people in religion. He saw, indeed, that many suspicious eyes were fixed upon him, and that in some breasts the old hatred was still burning ; but he hoped to outlive this prejudice, and so kept on at his work as if unconscious of danger.
A single incident, illustrating the cherished malignity of some of the Indians, may not be out of place here. Re- turning, one summer's day, from a neighboring settlement
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND.
on the lake shore, singing hymns as he went, and talking to his favorite pony, he espied an Indian skulking through a neighboring thicket, and picking the flint of his gun, as if preparing to fire. A moment's glance showed him that this was one of his old enemies, - a vindictive and fero- cious fellow, capable of any deed of savage cruelty. As- sured that this man was intent on destroying his life, he yet rode on, betraying no sign of fear. "Stop! stop !" shouted the Indian. Mr. Kirkland replied, as if misun- derstanding him, " I have been over on the other side of the lake," meanwhile quickening his horse into greater speed. Shortly afterward, he turned his head enough to see that the murderer had raised his gun to his shoulder. In a moment more, he heard the snap of the lock. The gun missing fire, the savage again bade him halt ; but he pushed on, though expecting every instant to feel the bul- let in his back. The click of the missing lock again reached his ear, and now he spurred his horse into a full run, and ere long reached home unharmed. What trans- pired subsequently we are not informed, except that this man, convinced that the Great Spirit loved the mission- ary with a special love, and guarded him from impending danger, came and humbly begged his pardon, and thence- forward remained his stanch friend.
After Mr. Kirkland had spent a year and a half among the Senecas, - a period full of hardship and danger, - he returned to New England to receive ordination. Ar- riving at Lebanon, he was formally set apart to the work of the ministry, and was at the same time appointed In- dian missionary under the charge of the Connecticut Board of the Scottish Missionary Society. It will be ob- served that he had pursued no prescribed curriculum of theological study ; his teachers in divinity had been the
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MR. KIRKLAND AMONG THE ONEIDAS.
experiences of eighteen months among the sons of the forest. Yet he had not wholly neglected books. No small part of the load which he and his guides carried in their knapsacks through the wilderness consisted of choice treatises on Biblical learning. After his ordination, the Missionary Board decided against his return to the Sene- cas, and commissioned him, instead, to the Oneidas, who were somewhat central among the Six Nations, and seemed more willing than any other tribe to receive in- struction. Mr. Kirkland, from first to last, regarded them as the noblest portion of the confederacy. Brave and fierce in war, they yet were generous, hospitable, and benevolent in social life. Plainly, too, they were not wanting in shrewd and nice discernment of character, since they styled the white man " a knife-man," -in allusion, doubtless, to the favorite recreation of our whit- tling ancestors.
In July, 1766, Mr. Kirkland started for his new field, and ere long arrived at Kanonwarohale, the principal vil- lage of the tribe, situated near what is now known as Oneida Castle. Intending to make this a permanent residence, he built for himself a log-house, doing much of the work with his own hands. He soon formed plans and commenced labors for the good of his new parish, - plans and labors which were not wholly in vain. Thus occu- pied, he spent three years of useful activity, not sinking under bodily privations and discomforts, nor discouraged by the indifference or opposition of the natives, but toil- ing onward with a cheerful faith, instructing the igno- rant, restraining the vicious, and declaring to all the un-
known God whom they ignorantly worshipped. In the spring of 1769, his hardships had so worn upon his health that his friends urged him to rest awhile and to visit
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND.
New England. This was just what he needed. The summer's recreation on his native hills restored him, and before the autumn set in he was ready to return to his post of duty. But is it strange that he now began to think it not good for a missionary to be alone ? Several years before this, his correspondence betrays, now and then, a touch of the tender passion. To his friend, Dr. Wheelock, he writes : " I thank you, reverend sir, for the frequent mention of a certain name in your letters, which is very agreeable in this rough, unhewn part of the world ; and I can assure you the person would be much more so, were I in a proper situation for the sweetest joy of life. But farewell to that for the present." His circumstances having now somewhat improved, he sought and won in marriage the hand of Jerusha Bingham, a niece of Dr. Wheelock.
Our narrative must not linger to follow the happy pair in their boat-passage up the Mohawk River, and their horseback tour through the woods to Oneida, his wife on a pillion behind her husband. Nor can we dwell upon his enlargement of his log-house to the dimensions of six- teen feet square, making it quite a spacious and stylish residence for the time and place. This, however, should be said, that Mrs. Kirkland's presence among the Indians was immediately felt, diffusing a spirit of order, industry and purity on every side, and improving the dress and manners of both men and women. Her husband, too, engaged in his work with new energy. His schools flourished, intemperance was checked, the Sabbath was better observed, and not a few persons appeared truly reformed in heart and life. At this very day, there are families among the descendants of the Oneida tribe at Green Bay, Wisconsin, who trace back the respectability
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MRS. KIRKLAND. .
and virtue of their ancestors to the labors of the mission- ary at this period.
In the year 1770 Mr. Kirkland transferred his relations from the Scottish Board of Missions to the London So- ciety, whose correspondents resided in Boston. He also now interested himself more in the material prosperity of the Oneidas. A saw-mill, a grist-mill, and a blacksmith's shop were built the same year, with a substantial school- house and church. Then oxen were purchased, and farm- ing utensils in considerable variety. During the next year Mrs. Kirkland became the happy mother. of twin sons, whom the parents named George Whitefield and John Thornton. The Indians were greatly rejoiced at this event ; they adopted the boys into their tribe with a gleeful ceremony, and gave them significant and high- sounding names. The following summer and winter Mrs. Kirkland spent at Stockbridge, Mass., intending to re- turn in the spring. But when that season came, such disturbances had arisen among the Six Nations, with the prospect also of war between the Colonies and the mother country, that Mr. Kirkland thought it prudent to pur- chase a house for her in Stockbridge, where she could remain with her children in safety.
Now begins a turbulent period in the life of our mis- sionary. Sir William Johnson having died, his son, Colonel Guy Johnson, was made Superintendent in his stead. " Another king arose who knew not Joseph." In every possible way he showed hostility to him and the objects of his mission. A sturdy royalist, he tried to ar- ray the Indians against the colonists. A bigoted Church- man, he hated Mr. Kirkland's Puritanism, and reviled his clerical pretensions before the natives, affirming that he and all the other " New England ministers were not true
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND.
ministers of the gospel," and " that they held to ('ın- gerous doctrines." " You Indians," he declared with much warmth, " ought to pray only according to those forms which the king has set forth in the prayer-book. and you must learn the responses." The angry colonel failed to carry his point. The natives summoned a coun- cil, in which they resolved to send him a belt of wampum and a messenger to make a speech defending the mission. ary and deprecating all interference with his work. A the same time, they paid due respect to the position and dignity of the colonel. This firm yet temperate and reasonable course had the desired effect.
During the Revolutionary War, which now began, w have no full or connected account of Mr. Kirkland's life. His labors as missionary and teacher were much inter- rupted by the efforts of the royalists to enlist the Indians against the colonists. During this period of agitation, he was often absent from Oneida, now serving as chaplain in the Continental army, and then engaged by appoint- ment of the government in endeavors to hold the Six Na- tions in a state of neutrality. In this latter capacity he took long journeys in various directions to attend councils among the different tribes. For a time his exertions promised success, but the persistent efforts of Joseph Brant, Colonel Johnson, and other British agents, were too much for him. The Oneidas and Tuscaroras re- mained firm ; but the Mohawks, Senecas and others wavered, and then fell away. Every reader of American history is familiar with that bloody page which recounts the descent of St. Leger, at this time, from Oswego, with a large body of Indians, attacking Fort Schuyler (now · Utica), and ravaging no small part of the valley of the Mohawk. At these scenes of violence, the Oneidas and
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WAR OF THE REVOLUTION.
Tu baroras became greatly excited. Like all other savages, they delighted in war. To keep the peace, as the: colonists desired, was the hardest thing that could be . demanded of them ; they wanted to fight on one side or the other. After two years of impatient neutrality, General Schuyler gratified them by allowing a few hun- dred warriors, headed by the famous Oneida chief, Ckenandoa, to engage in certain special services. In the Fears 1777 and 1778, we find Mr. Kirkland at one time " short visits to his family ; again at Oneida, endeavor- ing to cheer and control his people amid the troubles of the times ; and again at various places, procuring infor- ation from friendly scouts of the movements of the enemy along our northern frontier. In 1779 he was brigade chaplain with General Sullivan, in his campaign on the Susquehanna.
On the return of peace, in 1784, he was reappointed a missionary among the Oneidas. But he found, alas ! that war had sown desolation in its track. It left the red men poor, their habits of industry broken up, their morals de- praved, and their schools and churches almost forsaken. Yet he was not discouraged. He resumed his work with hopefulness and ardor. In the course of a year the affairs of his flock looked encouraging. The natives became more intelligent, and showed a disposition to inquire into, and an ability to understand, the leading truths of christianity. A Cayuga chief, who had heard favorable reports of the white priest and his Bible, came sixty miles to visit him. The origin of the christian religion, the inspiration of the Scriptures, the law of God, the his- tory of Christ, - such high themes were the subjects of their conversation. The sagamore admitted that christianity was a pretty good sort of religion. But just
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND.
as he was leaving, Satan put it into his heart to inquire why, if the Bible was so good a book, it had been so long withheld from heathen nations ; and this he followed up with other questions of casuistry, - among the rest, that old thorny perplexity, the origin of evil, - all produced for the sake of debate and fault-finding. The missionary replied to these inquiries in an able manner, but feared that the chief went back to his tribe little benefited by his visit.
A happier case was that of a venerable Indian, who had been quite a Pharisee, and was accounted one of the wisest men of his tribe, but who, after several discussions with Mr. Kirkland, was convinced of the falsity and cor- ruption of paganism and of the truth and purity of christianity, and then entreated his teacher to " come and cast water on him in the name of Jesus." The con- version of this leading man was the beginning of a general reformation. For a period of seven months not an instance of intoxication was observed. In the three villages under Mr. Kirkland's care upwards of seventy persons were believed to have become truly religious. Not seldom did he see persons in his congregation who had walked twenty and thirty miles to hear him preach.
When the troublous period of the Revolution was over, Mrs. Kirkland had hoped to return to Oneida, to share with her husband in his privations and labors. But the want of schools and of suitable 'society for her children detained her in Stockbridge year after year. One of her sons, John Thornton, - a name afterwards to become eminent in the Presidency of Harvard College, - was sent to Phillips Academy, Andover, and thence, in due time, to Cambridge. The twin brother, George, was sent
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DEATH OF MRS. KIRKLAND.
to Dartmouth College. In the year 1788, when the hopes and prospects of the family were very bright, the mother was taken away, - a blow from which the chil- dren, as well as the husband and father, were slow to re- cover. In the summer of this year, Mr. Kirkland was directed by the Missionary Board to perform a tour among the other tribes of the confederacy, in order to as- certain their real numbers, and to learn their desires in reference to missionaries and teachers. In connection with this, he was requested by the State government to attend a council of chiefs and State Commissioners held at Buffalo Creek, for the transaction of important busi- ness. It was found that the Six Nations numbered about 4350, exclusive of the Mohawks, who had left the con- federacy and settled north of Lake Erie ; also, that they were not friendly to the proposal to send New England missionaries among them ; at least, if any were sent, they insisted on having only such as would baptize the children of all parents, however ungodly. It would seem that Mr. Kirkland's services as interpreter and mediator in the council were highly valued by both parties. At the con- clusion, " the chiefs unanimously returned him their thanks for his friendly aid and advice." The commis- sioners also voted that, "in consideration of the services rendered . . by the Rev. Mr. Kirkland, two thousand
acres of land shall be appropriated and given gratis to the said Mr. Kirkland, for the accommodation of his sons, or for such other purpose as he may think proper."1 And at the close of this year, the State of New York and the Indians conjointly made him a grant of valuable lands in Oneida County amounting in all to about 4760 acres. The tract, since known as Kirkland's
1 This land lay in Ontario County.
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND.
patent, was two miles square, and lay on the west side of what is now styled " the Property Line," its northeast corner being just outside the present park of Hamilton College.
This year and the next find him busy in his appropri- ate work, yet not without troubles. His meetings were sometimes interrupted by noisy and drunken men. More than once plans were laid to take his life. One morning, a bloody tomahawk was found stuck in his door, an inti- mation that he must soon leave the neighborhood, or expect the tomahawk. French traders brought in Jesuit priests to combat his teachings and assail his reputation. But he bore his trials manfully, and his influence among the people was strengthened under every attempt to weaken it.
During the summer of 1789, several head men of the tribe came to confer with him in reference to the con- dition and prospects of their nation. Earnestly, and sometimes tearfully, they spoke of their poor people, con- trasting their lot with that of the whites. They could not help seeing that the English were increasing in num- bers and power, while they were becoming weaker ; and, beholding this, they exclaimed, " The rivers and harbors which once received only a few canoes of ours are now crowded with the great ships of the white people ! Lands which our forefathers sold for a few pence could not now be purchased of the whites for a hundred or a thousand dollars ! Where we had only a few smokes (wigwams), they have now great cities and lofty houses !" A lamentation which poetry has caught up and re- peated :
" They waste us, - aye, like April snow,
In the warm noon, we shrink away :
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INDIAN LAMENTATIONS.
And fast they follow, as we go Towards the setting day, - Till they shall fill the land, and we Are driven into the western sea."
As they dwelt upon this theme, their breasts would heave and their eyes flash with sorrowful indignation. " Why this difference ?" they exclaimed, in tones of piteous despair. "Does not the curse of Heaven rest upon us for some old transgression, which we are power- less to remove, and which prevents our reformation and our prosperity ? " A strange superstition, indeed ; yet, in these lamentations over their impending fate, what a touch of nobleness ! Mr. Kirkland handled the matter wisely. He unfolded the influence of ignorance and vice, and of knowledge and virtue; respectively, on individual and national character ; and he showed that herein, and not in any malediction of Heaven, lay the difference be- tween the lot of the Indians and that of the whites. He endeavored to cheer and encourage them, assuring them that by diffusing intelligence, and by cultivating habits of industry and virtue, they might hope to rise to a con- dition of comfort and prosperity.
Among the records of the following summer, we note intimations that he was then giving much thought to a system of thorough education for the Indians of the Five Nations. He even went so far as to draw out his " Plan " in writing, and to submit it to the consideration of sev- eral leading civilians. These gentlemen expressed their approbation of his scheme, but did not think the time quite ripe for its execution.
In the winter of 1791, the general government again sought his aid in conducting a negotiation between them and the confederacy, the design of which was to
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND.
strengthen their attachment to the government, and to secure a more general introduction among them of the arts of civilization. Washington felt a deep interest in this movement, and General Knox wrote to Mr. Kirkland more than once, expressing the high sense which the government entertained of his services, and urging him, if consistent with his other duties, to undertake this new labor. A hostile feeling had lately sprung up against the whites, and plans were maturing in secret to combine the whole confederacy and the Western tribes against the American government. Thanks to the missionary's great personal influence and untiring exertions, this con- spiracy was nipped in the bud. The Five Nations were induced to remain firm in their adhesion to the govern- ment, and eventually adopted some of the measures pro- posed for their improvement.
Is it surprising that Mr. Kirkland now desired to gather the separated members of his family under one roof and under his own eye? With this in view, he cleared several acres of his landed property near Oneida, and built a house upon it. The removal of his effects having been accomplished under the charge of his son John Thornton, he plied his missionary work with all his accustomed zeal. During this year some friendly hand presented his educational scheme to Congress, and it met with such favor that a yearly grant of $1500 was voted, to aid in teaching the natives agriculture and some of the useful arts.
In August, 1792, he attended the Commencement at Dartmouth College, accompanied by an Oncida chief, named Onondego, whose remarkable presence attracted much attention. The trustees and faculty of the col- lege paid marked respect to Mr. Kirkland during this
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" MR. KIRKLAND AMONG THE COLLEGES.
visit. On Commencement day, President Wheelock ad- dressed Onondego from the rostrum. A part of his response addressed to the graduating class ran as fol- lows :-
" My young brothers, I salute you. My very heart has been gladdened by your pleasant voices. Although I understand but little of your language, I see marks of wisdom, and an enlarged mind, in many things you have said in your talks this day. This is the place for enlightening the mind. . . .
" My young brothers, attend. In the world there are many things which cause the unwary to step out of the right path. Hear what I say. Be watchful. Do not forget what you have learned. Never go out of the straight path. It has been marked out by the instructions of your chief. ... Let every step in your future life . . . show that you love peace and the true religion ; and the Great Spirit will bless you. The light begins to break forth a little among us in yonder wilderness."
From Hanover they went to Boston and Cambridge. At the college, the chief became quite a " lion " to the undergraduates ; his grave and crisp remarks on what he saw and heard pleased them not a little. The library, the chemical and philosophical apparatus, and the astro- nomical instruments, filled him with wonder. As to the orrery, which he called " the sun-moon-and-star machine," he feared he should not be able to describe it to his nation, or that they would ridicule it as " some magic- work." On leaving the town he "expressed great delight and surprise that the wise men at Cambridge, with their knowledge of everything about the works of God, in creation and providence, could nevertheless turn their attention to the interests and happiness of poor Indians."
Shortly after this tour in New England, Mr. Kirkland transferred his residence from Oneida to his lands near
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND."
the village of Clinton. Here his children, five in num- ber, grew to maturity. Here, too, lie was married to Miss Mary Donnally, a respectable lady who had long resided in his family, and had"charge of his children and household in Stockbridge. It was his wont to ride on horseback to his various preaching-places in the vicinity. On one of these tours through the woods, a small branch of a tree, which he was endeavoring to push aside, struck him in the eye. The blow was not so severe or painful as to prevent his going forward and fulfilling his engage- ments ; but the injury proved to be serious and perma- nent. For several months he was unable to read or write, and his nervous system was much deranged. By the advice of his physician, he went to New York and Philadelphia to consult certain eminent oculists. He was the more readily inclined to undertake this journey because, in addition to the benefit to his health which he hoped to gain, it would give him an opportunity to confer with several leading men as to a further prosecution of his educational scheme. This scheme contemplated the providing, first, of schools for young native children, in which they should be taught the rudiments of an English education. Three such schools had already been estab- lished. A second part of his plan involved the founding of a high school, or academy, to be centrally situated, and contiguous to some settlement of whites, to which " English youth were to be admitted, bearing the charges of their own education," and a certain number of older Indian boys, selected from the different tribes of the confederacy. These latter were "to be instructed," we now use Mr. Kirkland's words, " in the principles of human nature, in the history of civil society, so as to be able to discern the difference between a state of nature
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